Negotiations to Resume in Nurse Strike

Negotiations aimed at ending the week-old strike by 225 Red Cross nurses and technicians will resume Monday, both sides announced Friday.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross maintained that its blood supply was adequate to handle the needs of Los Angeles and Orange County hospitals. “Our blood supply is excellent,” said Gerry Sohle, Red Cross spokesperson. “We have over 18,000 units. We ordinarily need only 11,000 units (pints) on any given day.”

A spot check of major medical facilities in the Los Angeles area, indicated that the blood supply apparently continues to be adequate.

The nurses asserted that there were shortages and that some of the blood that had been brought in from outside the area was unsafe because it was not transported in refrigerated vehicles, a charge denied by the Red Cross.

Increasing Their Effort

The nurses also announced that they are stepping up their campaign to cut down the supply of blood coming into Red Cross centers from throughout the country.

About 38% of the blood donated to Red Cross nationally comes from union members.

Sohle of the Red Cross said she thought that one strike was not likely to cause long-term damage to Red Cross’ relationships with unions.

The strike started after the nurses rejected what Red Cross officials described as their final offer. The nurses are asking for wage increases of 6%, 5.5% and 5% over the next three years, compared to 4% offered by Red Cross. Top-scale registered nurses at Red Cross earn $26,942 annually, and licensed vocational nurses earn $18,840.